Re: Printed and HTML from one source

[David Mitchell <mitchell -at- SKY -dot- NET>]

   Gord Varney wrote...
   I'm trying to create good looking printed doc *and* good looking HTML
   doc from a single source file.

   David Blyth raised problems related to HTML forms, pagination, and
   fonts.

I don't know any tools or any quick fixes, but I am sure you could do
it, even if all you had was a style-based word processor and a good
scripting tool to write the conversion.

The key trick is to identify your information components and base
your style names around them. Think of it as poor man's SGML. Look at
_Designing and Writing Computer Documentation_ for background on
writing "chunks" of information.

I haven't implemented anything like this for HTML, but I have created
a template for Microsoft Word that can go from print to OS/2 IPF or
WinHelp RTF. IPF is very similar to HTML, both being markup
languages. In print, the template can generate three different book
sizes.

This approach means you have to stick to the template. It also means you can't
do much direct formatting. If you write so that you can present
online and in print, you have to design the template so that manual
page breaks are unnecessary. This is a lot of work up front, but it
frees you from the drugery of pre-press work.







David Mitchell                    David's Web Spot
mitchell -at- sky -dot- net                  www.sky.net/~mitchell/index.html
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